Review of The Forgotten (2004) by Erick F — 24 Dec 2009

1.5 out of 4.

* Spoiler Alert * May contain key plot points.

Friendly Man: There are worst things than forgetting.

Telly: No, there aren't.

Julliane Moore plays Telly Paretta, a mother whose son ,Sam, has died in a airplane crash. One day, all the videos and pictures she kept of her boy are suddenly blank. She demands an explanation from her husband, but he and her psychiatrist both say that she had a miscarriage and Sam doesn't exist. She runs away when they try to hospitalize her, and finds her old friend, Ash, has forgotten his own daughter who was friends with Sam. But suddenly, after she is taken by the police from his home, memories rush to him and he manages to help her escape from the police. They go on a hunt to find out who, or what, has taken everybodies memories and made their children the forgotten.

The premise is interesting, but the plot gets really unbelievingly weird. In the trailer it is apparent that aliens are at work and that they have something to do with the disappearance of memories, but it doesn't work. It becomes really dumb. When you find out what is really happening, it gets unconvincing. The climax was ridiculously corny and makes the movie fall flat.

Julliane Moore's acting is good in this film, but she fails to convince the emotions of a mother told that their beloved child was imaginary. I like Dominic West, but he didn't do it for me, either. He looked kind of stupid when he realized that his little girl existed.

The ending scene in the playground was predictable and pretty dumb, but it does give a sense of closure. I liked some of the thrills and chase scenes in the film, although the average person would think " How can one woman outrun the entire government system and not get caught once?". There is a scene where a detective finally believes Telly, but she is violently Pulled out of Telly's case, so to speak. It comes out of nowhere and scared the hell out of me, but other than Ash's capture by the aliens, thats about the only thrill in the film.

Its a shame that this movie didn't turn out to be better, because I love science fiction and the cast and story were good. But overall, it's a bad movie that may be good for only a moment of ridiculous alien indulgence. The title is oddly the category this movie lies in: The Forgotten.